President Obama and Mitt Romney during the 2012 election. / David Goldman, AP

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

by David Jackson, USA TODAY

Mitt Romney still isn't a big fan of President Obama's foreign policy, and is now saying Obama has been schooled by Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.

"I think Putin has outperformed our president time and time again on the world stage," Romney told NBC News.

Romney, the Republican nominee who lost the 2012 election to Obama, cited the examples of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden, now living under political asylum in Russia.

"We are, and I've said this before, geopolitical adversaries" with Russia, Romney told NBC's Peter Alexander. "Not enemies but adversaries geopolitically. And Putin lines up with Assad and gave Assad the cover that he needed and won a diplomatic battle with regards to Syria."

Romney, who is doing interviews in connection with a new documentary about his presidential campaign, also said Putin "likewise keeps Edward Snowden as a bit of a stick in the eye at America. And I think most observers of the international political scene suggest that Russia has elevated itself in stature and America has been diminished."